Baggage
by selenehekate
Summary: Oneshot. When Draco is fighting with Astoria again, he turns to Blaise for help. However, things don't go quite as planned when someone ends up unconscious and a small black suitcase begins to raise fear in Draco... Please read and review!


He stepped slowly into the room, his eyes glossing over the drunken inhabitants that staggered around with pints of firewhiskey in their hands. Shutting the door behind him, he pulled off his jade green scarf and slowly sauntered forward, careful to avoid the mysterious pink liquid that stained the floor of The Three Broomsticks. Scowling in disgust, Blaise Zabini stopped by a table in the corner, kicking the chair of its occupant. "This had better be good, Malfoy," the darker boy said. "I was busy."

Draco rolled his eyes, motioning for the waitress to come over. "I highly doubt that."

"Believe it or not, Draco, I actually do have a life outside of you," he said, sitting down and leaning back in his chair.

"I don't think standing outside the Ministry, hoping they'll take pity on you and offer you a job counts as 'a life,'" the blond sneered, taking a sip of his drink.

"It's not like you have a job either!" Blaise snapped. "It's bloody difficult to get hired nowadays, given that we are known _Death Eaters_!" He hunched over, glaring at the man sitting opposite him. "It makes us appear untrustworthy." As the new young waitress approached them, conjuring a separate glass of firewhiskey for Blaise, the darker man spoke again. "Besides," he said, an amused grin sliding onto his face. "It's not as though we all have _girlfriends_ of our own to pay our way for us."

However, instead of being goaded into an argument, Blaise was surprised to see the blond before him sigh. "Yes well, I might not have even _her_ for much longer."

Blaise raised an eyebrow. "Really now? I thought you two were the perfect couple."

Draco glared. "Bollocks. You know we barely get along. But I still love the bloody bird-"

"And her wallet."

"-_And,_" Draco continued, his voice raising higher. "I don't want to let her go. But I think I may have pushed her too far this time-"

"By literally pushing her?" Blaise chuckled.

"-By refusing to dine with her sister tomorrow."

"Well I don't blame you, mate. Daphne was a right bore, and she had absolutely _obscene_ table manners-"

"Would you stop that!" Draco snapped. "I didn't call you here so you could give me the cynic's perspective of my love life."

"No," Blaise said, with a shake of his head, his eyes narrowing. "You called me away from trying to _find a job_ so you could moan and cavil about your bleeding lover."

Draco frowned. "Well it's not as though you were having any success on the job front, anyway."

"That's not the point!"

"Come on now," the Slytherin prince coaxed. "Stay here and get madly blottoed with me. There's no harm in it; you might as well, given that the work day is ending, and all."

Blaise could only blink at his friend, giving him a long, hard look. "You're really pathetic, aren't you?"

"I'm not-"

But Blaise was already standing up; he grabbed Malfoy by the arm. "Come on. Let's get you home."

* * *

"She's not going to let me back inside."

"That's why you have a key."

"She'll just throw me out once more!"

"Then it's a good thing we're wizards and can just apparate back inside."

"And when she starts throwing things?"

"You know some decent curses, thanks to the late Dark Lord. Surely you haven't forgotten?"

The blond frowned as he opened the door. "I don't want to curse her! Remember, I actually love-" He cut himself off, his eyes widening as a small crash sounded from the kitchen. Immediately, both boys had their wands out. The war may have been a few years ago, but the constant feeling of danger was still there, and they silently crept towards the kitchen. 'Auror?' Draco mouthed.

Blaise just shrugged, motioning for Draco to go in first. He himself would follow behind, covering Draco. As the blond nodded, stepping towards the kitchen door, a rustling sound came from within, and Blaise's muscles tensed...

Draco darted into the kitchen, his wand pointed straight ahead- "_Sommeil_!" A thud sounded, a large _crash _reaching Blaise's ears as he entered the room, his eyes darting around nervously-

"Bloody hell!"

The blood began to drain from Draco's face as he realized what he'd done, for there, lying on the floor before them, was Astoria Greengrass, Draco's longtime girlfriend. "Oh, Merlin!" he moaned, collapsing against the counter.

Blaise gazed down at her thoughtfully. "I suppose we should have considered the possibility that it was Astoria we heard, given that she lives here and all."

"You _think_?"

"Perhaps the alcohol has messed with our mindsets a bit," he continued, peering down at the young witch. "We've spent too much time today remembering the Dark Lord's reign. It can't be healthy."

"Oh, Merlin," Draco muttered. "She's going to murder me, absolutely murder me!"

"Well," Blaise interrupted. "No point in stalling. Go on then, rouse her."

Draco shut his eyes tightly, pointing his wand at the unconscious form on the floor before he paused, the terrifying truth beginning to sink in. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"I can't remember the counter-curse," he said, his eyes widening. "Shit! I can't remember the counter-curse!"

"You definitely _have_ been drinking then," Blaise mused.

"Well you do it then! Wake her up."

"Me? I don't _know_ the counter-curse; I don't even know the curse! We can't all have been the Dark Lord's favorites, you know."

"Actually, my father taught it to me-"

"Well bully for him," Blaise interjected. "I hardly think that's relevant now, though."

"Merlin," Draco said, his head sinking into his palm. "Where's Hermione _bloody_ Granger when you need her?"

"Don't let _her _hear you say that; she'll never shut up."

"_Blaise_!"

"All right, calm down. Now let's think," Blaise rationalized. "It sounds as though it's an Italian spell-"

"I think it's Portuguese, actually," Draco murmured. "Portuguese for the word 'sleep.'"

"So then find the corresponding word in Portuguese for 'wake,'" Blaise suggested.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Right, because I just happen to speak every language ever creat- Oh bloody hell!"

"What are you-" But Blaise followed his friend's fingers, looking across the hall to see that he was pointing at a large black suitcase that had fallen over when Draco had knocked Astoria out. "Oh," Blaise said at last. "Well. This is awkward."

"She was going to_ leave me_?" Draco asked, feeling a great sense of indignation. "What...?"

"Maybe it's a misunderstanding-"

"Yeah, and maybe Goyle will be the next Minister of Magic," Draco snapped back.

"Well they haven't picked too many winners as of late, though Shacklebolt has been fairly decent thus far," Blaise mused.

"I can't believe she's going to leave me! I thought she loved me! What a bloody liar!"

"Draco, she _is_ a Slytherin."

"So? Merlin, when she wakes up... I've got to figure out what she's planning, how she can leave me. I need to talk to her now, that _lying bint_! Come on, Blaise! What's the bloody counter-curse?"

"As if I'd suddenly know it," Blaise muttered.

"Unless you're being helpful, kindly shut up, Zabini!"

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Oh right, of course. Because it's completely possible for me to suddenly be helpful. Merlin, why did you have to use such an obscure curse? _Sommeil._ I mean, what is that? How could that have possibly stayed in your head after all of these years? _Sommeil. Sommeil. Somm_... Oh." He paused, tilting his head to the side. "Oh. That's a French spell."

Draco's head snapped around to face his friend. "What?"

"Yes." Blaise nodded. "French for 'sleep.'"

"And you're just _now_ figuring this out?"

"Hey, don't blame me! You're the one who thought it was Portuguese," Blaise reminded him.

"Well how do you say 'wake' then?" Draco asked, gripping his wand tighter.

"Uh... _Sillage_, I think."

Draco blanched. "You _think_? You aren't sure? Blaise, I don't want to kill my girlfriend! Is that the spell or not?"

"Most likely." Draco groaned, but Blaise quickly glared at the blond. "It's not like you're making much progress on your own. You might as well try it out!"

"Oh, I'm going to regret this," he muttered, shutting his eyes and pointing his wand at the unconscious Astoria. "_Sillage_!"

A bright jet of white light shot from the tip of his wand, hitting Astoria squarely in the chest. There was silence for a moment, before the girl moaned, rubbing at her head as she slowly sat up. "What the-" She blinked, looking around. "Draco? Blaise? What am I doing-"

But Draco took over. "How could you? How could you possibly leave me?"

"What?"

"That bag. You're moving out, aren't you? That's why there's a suitcase. You're leaving me without saying good-bye." A glare fell onto his features as the girl stood up, one hand on her head, the other brushing dirt off of her clothes. "That's cruel, Astoria. Even for you."

Her eyes snapped to his. "Even for- What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"You heard me! You're a selfish, conniving, lying Slytherin, just like Blaise said-"

"Hey, don't drag me into this!" the bewildered darker boy said.

"And you're going to leave me," he hissed, continuing in his rant. "I can't ever forgive you for that. Never!"

"Well it's a good thing you're just a dunce then, isn't it?" Astoria snapped, walking over to the sink. "Take a good look at that bag, Draco. Does it look like mine?"

A pause. And then, "Well, no. But I figured you'd borrow-"

"It's new, Draco. Mine fell apart, and so I bought a new one. Which," she added, her gaze darkening. "You'd know if you had just bothered to ask me!"

But Draco just ignored her ire. "So you aren't leaving me?"

"No, you daft prat! I'm stay-" Before she could get the words out, however, she was pulled into a kiss; Draco's mouth feverishly attacked her own in his happiness. They were joyful. They were in love. They were perfect.

Blaise found the whole display utterly sickening.

Astoria pulled back. "Wait a moment. How did I end up on the floor?"

Draco hesitated, wincing visibly as he spoke. "You really don't want to know."

"Draco-"

"Trust me. It's for the best if you're kept in the dark on this one."

Sadly, that did little to appease her. "You always do this, Draco! You always hide things from me!"

"I do not-"

"I don't know how you expect this relationship to work if you're going to constantly lie and manipulate your way into my heart! You have to be honest with me-"

"I am!"

"Not right now, you're not!"

"Yes I am!"

"I highly doubt-"

As the two argued, shouting to each other, Blaise began to back away, preparing to leave them to fight in peace and go back to his flat. They two grew louder and more passionate in their arguments, and Blaise couldn't help but shake his head. They had just made up, and already they were screaming at each other again. It was always a vicious cycle with these two, one that would probably never end.

He shut the front door behind him, stepping out onto the street. He could still hear their yells from inside, and he rolled his eyes. "They just keep going 'round and 'round," he muttered to himself, before striding off into the cool night air.

* * *

This was written for the HPFC Forum Challenge "The Competition Challenge." Prompts were 'Round and 'Round, and suspense. I had a lot of fun writing it!

Check out my Severus/Hermione story Fragments! I hope you all enjoy it!

In addition to that, check out my rather adorable new oneshot Ten Sickles. It's listed as Lily/Regulus, but there's a twist... It's humorous, and if you like this story, I'm sure you'll enjoy Ten Sickles, so please read and review it!

Thank you for reviewing! I really appreciate it!

Lurve you all,

-Selene


End file.
